McIntosh MPC500 Power Controller

The McIntosh MPC500 Power Controller sits in the middle of McIntosh’s power-control lineup — comprehensive surge and line protection for a full system, without the toroidal isolation-transformer scale (or price) of the MPC1500 above it. Its job is to protect an entire connected system against AC line surges, secondary surges that follow an initial event like a lightning strike, and the more subtle over/under-voltage conditions that shorten the life of high-value components.

The engineering runs on cascaded surge protection built around a thermally-protected metal-oxide varistor (TPMOV) — a safer implementation than the standard MOV, addressing the common failure mode where an MOV overheats and fails silently after repeated absorption events. Ethernet, coaxial, and other low-voltage connections are protected too, through gas discharge tubes, PTC thermistors, and transient voltage suppression components covering the parts of a modern rack that aren’t just the AC line. EMI filtering + programmable over/under-voltage protection run on the AC line itself.

Eight Type B (NEMA 5-15R) receptacles — or four Type F (Schuko) outside North America — can each be configured from the rear panel or the front-panel menu, giving the installer sequencing and switching control per outlet rather than per bank. The front-panel display shows input voltage, current draw, or total apparent power, selectable. Chassis in McIntosh’s signature black glass with illuminated logo, control knobs, and aluminum end caps — matched to the rest of a McIntosh rack.

The MPC500 is the right unit for a McIntosh system that needs comprehensive surge and line protection without the toroidal-transformer scale of the MPC1500. Available on order at LMC Scottsdale — walk in during business hours or book ahead for a MPC500-vs-MPC1500 comparison on your specific system.